Threats / OpenBSD / CVE-2020-7247
CVE-2020-7247
· EUVD no mirror located
· GCVE no mirror located
Verified 2026-06-22
OpenBSD OpenSMTPD vulnerability
OpenSMTPD contains a command injection vulnerability in smtp_mailaddr that allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary commands with root privileges through a crafted SMTP session.
Verdict
Today item — known-exploited.
A remote unauthenticated attacker can exploit improper input validation in OpenSMTPD's SMTP session handling to achieve arbitrary code execution with root-level privileges, enabling complete system compromise.
01
Is it exploitable?
— the evidence, ranked above the scoreExploit available
Fully weaponized — public exploit code is cataloged for this vulnerability.We link the existence of the exploit; we do not host or redistribute payloads.
Reported exploitation
1 independent public report of in-the-wild exploitation are cataloged.Distinct reporting sources (vendor, incident response, government); open them for the underlying claims.
Exploited in the wild
Listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2022-03-25).
Probability (EPSS)
EPSS 0.98972 — modeled likelihood of exploitation activity.EPSS is a daily-changing model output — open the source for today's value.
Severity / affected
Affected: OpenBSD, OpenSMTPD. Confirm exact fixed builds in the vendor advisory.
Weakness (CWE)
Mapped to CWE-755 Improper Handling of Exceptions, CWE-78 OS Command Injection — weakness family: Injection.CWE assignment from the public NVD record; the weakness class drives how the flaw is exploited.
02
Who’s exploiting it?
— attribution turns risk into urgencyAttribution not established
No confirmed (advisory-backed) threat-actor attribution is established for this record. Absence of a named actor is not absence of compromise — see Coverage & confidence.
03
Why it matters
— the attack path, told twice: adversary, then board1
Front door — unauthenticated access narrative 1
Attacker
I craft a malicious SMTP session payload targeting the smtp_mailaddr function to inject shell commands.
Business
Mail infrastructure becomes a direct attack vector for system takeover without authentication requirements.
2
Keys to the kingdom — privilege/identity takeover narrative 2
Attacker
I send the payload to the SMTP service running as root, bypassing input validation mechanisms.
Business
Attacker gains root-level code execution, enabling data theft, lateral movement, and persistent compromise.
3
Lateral reach — past segmentation narrative 3
Attacker
I establish control over the compromised mail server and pivot to connected systems.
Business
Organizational email infrastructure and connected networks face full compromise and operational disruption.
04
What to do
— defensible action- Remediate per the vendor advisory — confirm the fixed build for your version and verify exposure.1
Say it to the boardA vulnerability with this evidence profile is a defensible budget line, not a backlog ticket — fund the change against the proof above.
05